Christianity

President Donald Trump listens as Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue speaks about the coronavirus in the James Brady Press Briefing Room of the White House, Friday, April 17, 2020, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

NEW YORK (AP) — President Donald Trump held a call with faith leaders on Friday that included discussion about a phased-in return to broader in-person worship after weeks of religious services largely shifting online in response to the coronavirus pandemic. Trump's call with faith leaders came one...

In this Monday, April 13, 2020, photo a priest takes part in a Holy Monday ceremony held without worshippers at the Athens Cathedral, in Greece, during a lockdown order by the government to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. For Orthodox Christians, this is normally a time of reflection and communal mourning followed by joyful release, of centuries-old ceremonies steeped in symbolism and tradition. But this year, Easter - by far the most significant religious holiday for the world's roughly 300 million Orthodox - has essentially been cancelled. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris)

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — For Orthodox Christians, this is normally a time of reflection and communal mourning followed by joyful release, of centuries-old ceremonies steeped in symbolism and tradition. But this year, Easter — by far the most significant religious holiday for the world’s roughly 300...

Women, self isolated in their cars to protect against coronavirus, take part in a protest against plans for the parliament to debate a draft law tightening Poland's ban on most abortions this week, in Warsaw, Poland, Tuesday, April 14, 2020. The new coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms for most people, but for some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness or death.(AP Photo/Czarek Sokolowski)

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Polish lawmakers began debating draft laws Wednesday that would impose a near-total ban on abortion, criminalize sex education in schools and equate homosexuality with pedophilia, revisiting proposals backed by a Catholic group that were shelved after a popular outcry...

This image provided by Alliance Defending Freedom shows the sign for parking lot church services outside of Temple Baptist Church in Greenville, Miss., on April 9, 2020. The Justice Department has weighed in on a local Mississippi case involving a church that says its religious freedoms were violated. Temple Baptist in Greenville has been holding drive-in services for congregants during the coronavirus outbreak. (Alliance Defending Freedom via AP)

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Department took the rare step on Tuesday of weighing in on the side of a Mississippi Christian church where local officials had tried to stop Holy Week services broadcast to congregants sitting in their cars in the parking lot. As the coronavirus pandemic spread,...

In this April 10, 2020, photo provided by Sky News Australia, Cardinal George Pell is interviewed in Sydney following his release from prison after Australia's highest court cleared him of child sex crimes. Pell, Pope Francis’s former finance minister said in a television interview broadcast on Tuesday, April 14, 2020, that some church officials believed that he was prosecuted by Australian authorities because of the trouble he had caused in the Vatican with financial reforms. (Sky News Australia via AP)

CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — Cardinal George Pell has linked his fight against corruption in the Vatican with his prosecution in Australia for alleged child sex abuse. Pell was regarded as the third highest-ranking Vatican official in 2018 when he became the world’s most senior Catholic to be...

Italian Carabinieri stand by a cross, donated to them during the Holy Year of 2016, placed by an empty St. Peter's Square in homage to Pope Francis while the pope celebrated an Easter Mass inside an empty St. Peter's Basilica, at the Vatican, Sunday, April 12, 2020. Pope Francis and Christians around the world marked a solitary Easter Sunday, forced to celebrate the most joyful day in the liturgical calendar amid the sorrowful reminders of the devastation wrought by the coronavirus pandemic. The new coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms for most people, but for some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness or death. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

NEW YORK (AP) — Christians around the world celebrated Easter Sunday isolated in their homes by the coronavirus while pastors preached the faith’s joyous news of Christ's resurrection to empty pews. One Florida church drew a large turnout for a drive-in service in a parking lot. In Britain, Prime...

Pastor Albert "Gonzo" Gonzales stands on a flat-bed truck as his church holds Easter services in the parking log in San Antonio, Sunday, April 12, 2020. Many churches are adapting their services as Christians around the world are celebrating Easter at a distance due to the COVID-19 pandemic. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

Christians around the world celebrated an Easter Sunday upended by the coronavirus without the usual crowded church Masses and large family gatherings. Instead, they turned to the internet, television and radio from home to follow services that noted the grave impact of the pandemic. Some found...

Pope Francis spreads incense at the start of Easter Sunday Mass, inside an empty St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican, Sunday, April 12, 2020. Pope Francis and Christians around the world marked a solitary Easter Sunday, forced to celebrate the most joyful day in the liturgical calendar amid the sorrowful reminders of the devastation wrought by the coronavirus pandemic. The new coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms for most people, but for some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness or death. (Andreas Solaro/Pool via AP)

VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis called for global solidarity Sunday to confront the “epochal challenge” posed by the coronavirus pandemic as he and Christians around the world celebrated the joy of Easter in unusually solitary and somber circumstances due to bans on public gatherings and stay-at-...

In this April 7, 2020, photo released by the U.S. Navy, sailors assigned to the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt move ready to eat meals for sailors who have tested negative for COVID-19 and are being taken to local hotels in an effort to implement social distancing at Naval Base Guam. People in Guam are used to a constant U.S. military presence on the strategic Pacific island, but some are nervous as hundreds of sailors from the coronavirus-stricken Navy aircraft carrier flood into hotels for quarantine. Officials insist they have enforced strict safety measures. (Mass Communication Specialist Julio Rivera/U.S. Navy via AP)

HONOLULU (AP) — People in Guam are used to a constant U.S. military presence on the strategic Pacific island, but some are nervous as hundreds of sailors from a coronavirus-stricken Navy aircraft carrier flood into hotels for quarantine. Officials insist they have enforced strict safety measures...

People wearing face masks to help protect against the spread of the new coronavirus wait to cast their early votes for the upcoming parliamentary election at a polling station in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, April 10, 2020. The elections will be held on April 15 at about 14,300 polling stations all over the nation to pick lawmakers. The new coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms for most people, but for some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness or death. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

The Latest on the coronavirus pandemic. The new coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms for most people. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness or death. TOP OF THE HOUR — South Korea continues downward trend in new virus...